


A Proper Burial

by Shadowfax214



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24841825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowfax214/pseuds/Shadowfax214
Summary: Cloud and the rest of the group have to say goodbye to Aerith. Will they be able to overcome the sadness of her sudden death and move on with the rest of their journey?
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife, Cloud Strife & Everyone
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	A Proper Burial

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, I am new here and I wanted to tell a story that I think might happen in the future of the remake. I obviously ship Clerith since the original back in 97 and I wanted to dive into the emotions Cloud would go through if he has to say goodbye to her again. Hopefully, the future of FF7R has a different outcome than in the original but I hope everybody likes this story. I had gotten some inspiration reading various theories online and I hope I can give Aerith's death scene some justice in this writing. Please leave comments if you have any suggestions or thoughts!

The SOLDIER’S entire world had ended in that moment. Even after the battle with Jenova, the bullets and the destruction that ended up ringing through the underground city mere minutes ago with Cloud and company defeating Sephiroth’s attack had no effect on what his heart and mind were staring at with gut-wrenching focus and agonizing attentiveness. 

The flower girl was dead, Aerith’s body lied against the short marble wall of the water altar, Cloud had placed her sitting up and had previously closed her eyes shortly after her death when she had fallen into his arms once Sephiroth’s sword had ended her life. Having no understanding of how he had gotten from holding the dead body of his soulmate to slashing Jenova’s monstrous form into pieces to staring at the horrifying picture that lied before him, Cloud let out an agonizing breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

Tears started forming on his face again as they had done so earlier and he looked down to avoid the gaze of the rest of the group. There was no room for pride here, the most important person in his life was gone. Aerith had mentioned to Cloud previously that she was going to stop meteor that she was the only one who could protect the planet from Sephiroth’s plan of destruction. Cloud didn’t understand her reasoning then and couldn’t grasp the terms of it now. Right now all Cloud could feel was pain flowing through every fiber of his being.

Still staring down at his feet with tears running through every part of his face he could hear Yuffie and Tifa crying steadily with the rest of the group looking down as the picture of sadness that Aerith was gone forever hung over all of them. While his hands were shaking and the rest of his body refused to function properly with the amount of grief washing over him Vincent laid his hand softly on Cloud’s shoulder. 

“We need to leave this place. I understand you are grieving right now my friend but staying here would not be wise should Sephiroth return.”

Cloud’s head moved up after Vincent had spoken. His words were soft and weak, he spoke with emotion in his every word, he couldn’t get out of the state his heart and head were in.

“Yes, we need to get out of here. Let’s head back to the rooms upstairs and then we will get out of the city.”

After Cloud had addressed the rest of the group everyone walked slowly towards Aerith’s body one at a time to say their goodbyes. Vincent simply stood over her for a minute and showed no emotion, the same as always. He then walked to Cloud and gave him a look of understanding then proceeded to walk up the glass staircase.

Cid stood over Aerith for a little bit and looked down, whether or not he was crying Cloud couldn’t tell but he saw Cid look up to what must have been the heavens for a short while and look back down at Aerith’s body before walking up to Cloud and putting his hand on Cloud’s shoulder.

“I know she meant a lot to you kid, we're not done yet. We are going to fight that bastard till the end and I’m gonna be with you the whole way.”

Cloud nearly grunted as he had no energy to say anything, Cid then walked slowly up the stairs.

Cait Sith was hard to understand as he hovered in the area and left without any words. Cloud could have sworn he had heard crying though it seemed distant. Like it wasn’t really coming from the cat-like creature on the moogle but from somewhere else? The thought wasn’t important to him right now. 

Yuffie was a mess, after falling to her knees in deep tears in front of Aerith’s body she started rambling out loud. It wasn’t hard to hear the words that poured out of her and Cloud could sympathize with everything that was on her mind.

“I am so happy that I met someone as kind and as caring as you! Everything you told me about the world and the people in it meant so much to me.” “I can’t believe you are gone!” “I’ll never forget you!” 

Yuffie had stopped shouting so that she could whisper a few last thoughts before she left.

“Thank you for showing me such kindness that I never deserved, I’ll keep that in my heart forever Aerith.”

After running up to Cloud and almost knocking him over with a hard squeeze of a hug she ran fast up the stairs and didn’t look back. She didn’t really tell him anything before she had run off but was just crying deeply needing someone to comfort her pain. She was bawling the entire way and Cloud couldn’t blame her for it or judge her for it. 

Red XIII had a few kind words for Aerith as he walked from her body to Cloud and gazed up at Cloud’s face. The tears were still there; Cloud was not able to talk to anybody but Red looked concerned as he waited for Cloud to look at him. Finally meeting his gaze Red spoke to him:

“I didn’t know her like you did Cloud but I knew that she was an incredibly innocent person. Her heart was so full of passion and understanding. Going through everything she did in her life and how she was still able to show kindness and grace to all of us. I’ll remember her friendship always. We will avenge her Cloud, I will fight for her memory and the planet. I will never give up.”

Cloud was about to fall to the floor, he couldn’t keep his head together during all of this. Tifa and Barret were hugging each other over by Aerith’s body now. He was sure they were both crying and it made him feel even worse to see. Cloud had to move, he had to work on how he was going to get his head to function properly again. How could he get this sadness to leave? How could he go on living when everything he had ever wanted was lifeless on the floor of this altar?

“Thank you, Red.”

Cloud had returned Red’s encouragement allowing Red to walk away leaving Cloud with Tifa and Barret standing next to Aerith’s lifeless body. 

Tifa had gotten down to her knees next to Aerith, she had removed her glove to put her hand on her face in a very loving way, moving the hair out of her eyes so she could see Aerith’s face fully she cried while talking through her tears so that all three of them could hear what she had to say.

“You were my friend; you were the greatest of all of us. I could not have made it this far without you Aerith. Cloud and I needed you and you were always there for us.”

Tifa couldn’t keep talking through the downpour of tears that had engulfed her at this. Barret picked Tifa up off the floor and held her in a hug talking with her as Tifa cried heavily with him.

“Remember this pain Tifa.”

Barret encouraged Tifa and held her upright in a hug before letting her go.

“Aerith was a wonderful girl, she was tougher than all of us. She saved my Marlene from Shinra and kept everybody in check a lot of times.” 

Tifa responded, her fists had closed and she spoke through the fury that was building up in her form;

“I can’t believe she’s gone; I won’t let Sephiroth get away with this. We have a job to do, a mission that isn’t complete yet. Our fight has to continue; we have to keep fighting for Aerith!”

They both looked at Cloud who didn’t return their gaze. Once a short amount of time had passed Tifa broke the silence:

“Cloud, it’s time to go upstairs.”

Cloud stood still, frozen with grief. He didn’t want to continue; he wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

“yeah”

Tifa and Barret looked worried, they couldn’t make him leave but they needed to go. It wasn’t safe staying in this place as long as they had.

“Do you need to say goodbye Cloud?”

Cloud had moved past them without answering Tifa’s question and picked up Aerith’s lifeless body. Her head had moved to rest on his chest as he carried her in his arms and it brought more tears to his eyes. As if he needed to start crying anymore after he had already cried for what had felt like an eternity. Somehow, Cloud realized he was probably going to cry for a long time after this, and he also realized he might never stop. This pain he was feeling; he couldn’t imagine how it could ever go away. 

Tifa and Barret were walking ahead of Cloud but stopped when they noticed Cloud carrying Aerith’s body. Barret looked concerned and was trying to be supportive.

“Do you need us to help---“

Cloud interrupted Barret’s concern.

“No, please let me do this. I need to…………..please.”

“Alright, we’ll see you at the top.”

Barret hesitated before leaving. He wanted to tell Cloud they were still here for him but he had a hard time communicating friendship with Cloud. They just wanted him to know he wasn’t alone through this.

“I know she loved you Cloud.”

Tifa had already run ahead so Cloud was sure she wasn’t able to hear this conversation.

“Yes, but I couldn’t save her.”

Cloud didn’t want to listen to anything Barret had to say, he was sick of everything. The guilt that was building in his soul was making him sick. 

“It wasn’t your fault. You cared about her, I know you did.”

Cloud was about to lash out horribly at this, he didn’t want to think about goodbyes anymore. He couldn’t bear talking about the past and what it meant or what it didn’t mean.

“Barret, please let us get out of here before I say something stupid.”

Barret scoffed and pointed a finger at Cloud, similar to the arguments they use to have in Midgar. 

“Have it your way, you aren’t the only one who is going to miss her though.”

Barret had gone ahead allowing Cloud to carry Aerith’s body up the glass stairs alone. He treated her body like she was as precious and fragile as glass and walked very slowly up the steps. Cloud was grateful for the chance to speak without anyone hearing his inner thoughts as he said many things that were building up inside. He looked at her face that still seemed so beautiful even in death. 

“I never got to tell you how much I loved you Aerith.” 

Tears were pouring down his face and he just hoped he could make it to the top without stopping or he would die in this place next to the body of who should have been his soulmate. 

“Why didn’t you let us help you?”

Every step brought agonizing pain to his head and his heart. He was sure he would never love anyone like this again. He had great care for his friends, a strong love for Tifa but nothing he had ever felt before meant what Aerith had meant to him. She had brought light to all of the darkness in Cloud’s life, she had caused him to experience love in the couple of months they had spent traveling the world together. From the first time he fell through the roof of her church he knew there was something special about this flower girl that made his heart jump every time they were around one another. The tears poured again and Cloud couldn’t see the steps in front of him anymore but pushed through with Aerith’s body in his arms.

“I can’t do this without you. I can’t fight without you. I can’t live my life and be happy without you here beside me. You were everything to me………..”

“Everything…….”

Cloud was about to lose it when he finally saw the entrance closely up ahead. As the last few steps came into view he quickly put a kiss on Aerith’s forehead. Her body wasn’t cold yet, he felt guilty for kissing her without permission in this case but remembered that she had never turned away from his embraces in the past. What he would give to be able to embrace her now. The thought of letting her go was making him fall apart. He didn’t know how he would be able to put her body down after this.

“I’ll remember everything you told me. I’ll never stop thinking about you Aerith. I will never love anyone the way I loved you and I am so sorry that I let you die. Please know that.”

Cloud broke down and cried harder than he had ever cried in his life at the doorstep of the glass stairs.

The City of the ancients looked hauntingly beautiful in the night sky. The rest of the group must have gone ahead to the rest areas to gather everything and prepare for the rest of the journey. Only Barret and Tifa had remained next to the river that flowed outside of the building they had just emerged from. Cloud slowly walked towards them, Aerith’s body never leaving his arms. 

Cloud wasn’t sure what to do next but he knew he had to tell Elmyra what had happened. He had no idea how he would be able to discuss such horrible news to Aerith’s mother but she deserved to know. Cloud also thought that it should be him to tell her, he owed it to Aerith. 

“We need to give her a proper burial, let’s take her body back to Elmyra.”

Barret and Tifa looked scared to death at this suggestion. Midgar was a great distance from where they were and traveling with Aerith’s body while Sephiroth was getting away in the other direction took them off of their mission. But they were both way too hurt to argue or disagree so they used very soft and gentle responses:

“Cloud, we can’t do that.” Tifa put her hands on Cloud’s arm. “Sephiroth is probably headed north and it would take us days to get to Midgar. “It might be less painful to bury her here.” 

Cloud didn’t like the idea of burying her in the ground alone in this evil place he had learned to hate. He would never look at this city with positive emotion again. He sighed heavily at their rejection and looked around.

“Well, do you think Aerith would have liked to be buried near her home or alone at some terrible place like this?”

Barret spoke up realizing a fight was about to start and he was having none of it. Everyone was already too tired. Too saddened by the loss of their friend to fight with one another.

“Cloud, stop being this way. We are all going to miss her horribly. If you don’t want to put her in the ground here what would be an easier way to say goodbye to her respectfully?”

Cloud thought to himself for a minute and the idea popped easily into his head but came with sadness realizing the physical action that would separate him from his beloved forever. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye, or let go of Aerith’s body. 

“I’ll take her out into the river. A water burial will be ok; I think Aerith would be alright with returning her body to the planet with the water. After all the flowers Aerith loved lived because of the rain.”

Tifa and Barret looked at Cloud with understanding and didn’t object to his idea. They took a step back and let Cloud walk towards the river. Barret had put Tifa in a side hug to comfort her as they watched Cloud take the most painful walk he would ever endure. Tifa had started crying again once Cloud walked away from them. 

Cloud came to the understanding that Aerith would be gone forever from his life in the passing of the next few minutes and all of the pain started rushing to his head again. He paused before setting her body down on the ground as carefully as he could. Barret and Tifa looked at him from a distance with concern but said nothing, they knew Cloud was simply saying his goodbye and preparing for the end.

Cloud had left his sword near the staircase and would have to go back to get it but such a worry was at the back of his mind now. Taking off both of his gloves he handled Aerith’s body with his bare hands for the first time in his life. And now he also held her with his bare hands for the last time, he placed her arms over her abdomen with the most careful touch he could give. He moved her hair out of her face and placed it behind her head so he could see all of her face. He could have sworn a faint smile was there looking up at him. He was probably imagining things, but Aerith always seemed to have a smile, even in death. 

He realized her hair might tangle in the water if her ribbon wasn’t removed and didn’t want to bury her that way. As careful as he possibly could be, he removed her hair ribbon and wasn’t sure what he should do with it. After pocketing the ribbon, he unraveled Aerith’s hair and straightened it out every braid bringing more and more tears to his face as he looked at the beautiful flower girl in the moonlight.

It was time for him to let her go. She would now return to the planet and leave him forever. He wasn’t ready for it, but he picked up Aerith’s body and walked her to the center of the river where the water was at its highest level. Cloud had a few more things to say as he was about to let go of Aerith’s body. Nobody could hear him where he was standing, it was just him and his regrets as he spoke:

“I wanted to marry you Aerith, I should have told you that the other day when Cait Sith said those things about our fortunes together in the temple. I wish I could have told you that.”

He held her body out in his arms and was about to let her go into the water, disappearing from their world for the rest of time. 

“You deserved better than me, I know you cared about me as much as I cared for you but I promise I will never forget you. I wish I could have shared more of my life with you, I wish you could have met my mother. She would have loved you even more than I did. I wish I could have done so many other things with you that people who love one another do.”

He let her body go and the smile on her face never faded as she fell into the water. Her body fell further and further away and Cloud finally exhaled as he said one last thing in her direction as her body disappeared from his view.

“I love you………”

It was finished. The final act of sadness had passed and Cloud felt empty, the emptiness he knew would engulf him for the rest of his life had started. He then paused as he allowed it to enter his mind and tear at his soul. He would never feel better after this, all of his life would be about revenge and how his heart felt in this moment.

“…….I love you too Cloud, it’s time to get up now.”

Cloud snapped out of the daze he was in and his eyes broke into huge circles. That voice, no it was impossible…… He could have sworn Aerith had just spoken to him. But he had just buried her, he was hearing things, this couldn’t be real. Cloud looked all around, he was standing in shallow water looking into the depths of the river, looking at the building where she had met her end, looking towards Tifa and Barret who were still standing nearby waiting for Cloud to join them.

“Aerith?”

No response met his question.

Cloud was worried he was losing his mind, he might have lost it sometime in the last couple of hours as he buried his love and had forgotten to keep his head on straight. No matter, he could just shake it off but he swore that her voice had been audible as he walked back to Tifa and Barret.

“Let’s go meet up with everyone, it’s time to go after Sephiroth. Let’s settle the score.”

Cloud then looked up and walked behind Tifa and Barret, he gazed towards the sky and spoke to himself all the way out of the city.  
((“You’re still with me aren’t you?”))

“Yes Cloud, I’ll always be with you.”


End file.
